already and link already and a Chi-na-UK Stock Connect is unlikely
to bring any material incremental
inflow to China.

“China is busy with other priorities
to help slow down capital outflow
due to appreciation of USD and the
USD interest rate hike,” she says.

Despite indicating potential pitfalls of a direct stock connect, Chen
suggests that both UK and Chinese
governments would be willing to arrange an alternative mutual solution.

“I believe both markets are keen
to look at alternative arrangements
that would deliver commercial
benefits without the need for an
extensive level of regulatory changes in both market to support such
arrangement,” she says.

Technical and regulatory di;cul-ties have also been cited as potential
reasons why a UK-China trading
link could not be established.

Replicating the Hong Kong-Shanghai link for cash equity markets is
complex due to time zone di;erenc-es and the extensive level of regulatory cooperation needed to change
the rules in both China and the UK
to accommodate the link would take
an extensive amount of time and
resources to achieve.

Cindy Chen, head of securities
services at Citi, explains the potential link for cash equity between
China and the UK also provides no
commercial benefit.

“Global investors could accessChina via Hong Kong-ShanghaiFormer UK Chancellor, GeorgeOsborne, proposed a potentiallink between the UK and Chi-na in September 2015 during avisit to Shanghai, as he revealed a“landmark feasibility study” hadtaken place to assess the project’sviability.

The touted benefits were set to include increased job and investment
opportunities for both countries,
although experts have said the project has since hit several issues.

Margaret Harwood Jones,
managing director and global head
of securities services at Standard
Chartered, says a potential link between London and Shanghai stock
exchanges is being worked on, “but
has run into delays due to the set
up between the di;erent parties as

“The drivers are more on the high technology,innovative industries and the pharmaceuticalsector.”